Is this what we want?

[David Bailey]

I notice that the most popular categories on this site are the Manipulation Challenges.In particular 'Amber' [which most of us had a lot of fun with] and 'Author Author' [ditto].
Some of the restoration work here is mind-boggingly brilliant but is beyond a lot of us in terms of skill and/or patience.
I get the feeling that most of us simply enjoy modifying what is all ready there rather than find and fix what isn't.What do other members think?

[aylaah]

I'm learning and find the challenges an ideal way to a) get pics to practise on and b) see how others did it as well as to actually work to get a result. Most of the time I look at a picture (my own) and go ok what needs/wants doing? and with these, they tell you - its great practice for professional work coming in with a specific outcome required.

Restoration, in my own L plate opinion, is hard. Its harder for me than manipulation and retouching. I don't do the restoration challenges very much because I usually try, and am not happy with results, or just don't know how to get good results yet. So I largely publish my results in manipulation because I have some confidence in what I'm doing or at least think I might be able to meet the brief.

[Marthig]

[QUOTE]

Originally Posted by David Bailey

I notice that the most popular categories on this site are the Manipulation Challenges.In particular 'Amber' [which most of us had a lot of fun with] and 'Author Author' [ditto].
Some of the restoration work here is mind-boggingly brilliant but is beyond a lot of us in terms of skill and/or patience.
I get the feeling that most of us simply enjoy modifying what is all ready there rather than find and fix what isn't.What do other members think?
/QUOTE]

I tend to concur with you David. Still always try to do something with the restoration challenges, though I actually post only a few, mainly to check how the others did it, that way I can learn at least a little. There are so many options to consider within PS !! So far I manage fine with the more common, but what the others manage to get out of an almost uniform grey, black or yellow image is indeed mind-boggling
So my vote went to "both" -
Regards -

[Swampy]

Both!

Restoration is really my "weak link". Many times I will download the example and try the various techniques people offer for improvement of a photo and work through them on my own, but I often don't have much to add to what has already been offered by those here who are truely Retouch Pros.

Too, retouching is very time consuming (cloning, healing etc.) and I don't have time to do "great" work. I don't do retouching for a living so I find the Art/Manipulation projects often quick and closer to what I do to pay the bills therefore I can justify spending the time to "play" and learn from them.

[Doug Nelson]

Not to be too picky, but neither "Amber" or "Author Author" were manipulation challenges (they were retouching challenges). In fact, there was not one single entry for the last manipulation challenge I posted. I posted a new manipulation today anyway, though.

[DannyRaphael]

By engaging in some of the RP restoration challenges a few years back I learned how challenging they can be. As a result of struggling with these types of projects and assessing the results achieved by others I quickly deveopled a HUGE amount of respect for people like Vikki Hansen and Flora, who are highly skilled at restoration.

What I learned in terms of skills and knowledge from those challenges and Katrin Eismann's book, Photoshop Restoration & Retouching have been invaluable to me. While I occasionally take on a restoration project these days, my preferred area of interest is manipulation, where there are more opportunities for creativity and few demands for precision.

[NancyJ]

This is RetouchPro so I dont think its unreasonable for retouching to be more popular than restoration.
Restoration is a lot less glamourous and in many cases a thankless job. In terms of those that want to go pro - theres a lot more money (though less work) in high end fashion and product retouching than there is in restoration.
Most restoration is domestic, your material is poor and you have to try and make a diamond out of it - its very difficult work. I'm not saying retouching is easy but you generally have a better starting point - a high resolution, well photographed studio shot is a lot easier to work with than a 100 year old snap shot thats got damp, torn and stained - no matter what you're doing to it.

[the_webers_inc]

tom discussed this in the unmoderated topic forum yesterday...

[byRo]

Echoing what Swampy and NancyJ said.

Restoration is hard, often repetitive, work. It can be extremely rewarding, if not always in cash terms, but at least in the customer's reaction.

For those who are accustomed to restoration work, doing a challenge at RetouchPRO doesn't add too much in terms of experience would take a long time to attain a satisfactory standard.
I, personally, don't go much beyond giving a few tips and offering some comments in the forums.

One thing that I have noticed, however, is that the restorer's eye for detail (and practice of making silk purses out of sow's ears) can often be very useful when doing manipulation and retouching.

Rô